Earn money from your solar panels or wind turbine with our Smart Export Tariff
Our mission is to end fossil fuels. We want to see as much green energy flowing into the grid as possible – and that includes the electricity from your home solar panels or wind turbine.
Join our Smart Export Tariff (SET) and we’ll pay you for the extra energy your panels or wind generation system feeds back into the grid. It’s our version of the government’s Smart Export Guarantee scheme – the difference is that you’ll be helping to make a greener Britain because we invest our profits into building new sources of green energy.
You don’t have to be an Ecotricity customer to join, but if we also supply your electricity you will receive a higher export rate. You can choose from two Smart Export Tariffs.
It's quick and easy to join our Smart Export Tariff
Complete the switching journey and upload your documents. Our team of experts will then get to work to set up your supply.
If everything looks good, we’ll apply to your regional Distribution Network Operator (DNO) for an export Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN). It usually takes one to four weeks for this to be created.
Once we have your MPAN, we’ll connect it to your Ecotricity export account within five working days and send you an email asking for a first meter reading.
We’ll then connect to your smart meter and start measuring the energy you export. We’ll pay you once a quarter and send you details of all the green energy you’re helping to put into the grid.
Interested? Apply now by clicking here.
If you have any questions, see if they're answered below in our Frequently Asked Questions or email us at export@ecotricity.co.uk.
| Smart Export Tariff | Smart Import Export Tarif | |
|---|---|---|
| Pays you for what you generate? | ✘ No | ✘ No |
| Pays you for what you export? | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
| Tariff rate | 5.0p/kWh | 8.9p/kWh |
| Maximum capacity | 5MW | 5MW |
| Requires you to have an Import supply with us? | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
Smart Export Tariff FAQs
You’ll need a home solar or wind generation system with a maximum generation capacity of 5MW.
Yes, you’ll need to have a SMETS1 or SMETS2 smart meter that’s working and
communicating, plus give consent for us to collect half hourly data from your meter. If you don’t have one, we can install one for you if we already supply you for your import (energy) supply. You won’t be able to sign up to our Export Tariff until you have a smart meter installed and communicating
We’ll calculate what you’ve exported and send you an invoice every three months - we’ll then pay you for this within 10 working days of the date of your invoice.
If we also supply you with green electricity, you’ll get our highest export rate and have two accounts with us – one for import and one for export. Each account will be billed and paid separately.
There’s a zero pence standing charge on both our Smart Export Tariffs. This isn’t a mistake – we’re obligated to include a standing charge, even though we’re not charging for it. You’ll see a zero amount on your export statements for the standing charge.
If we also supply you with green electricity, then a normal standing charge will apply for your import account – but your export account standing charge will be zero.
If you’re a member of the government’s Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme that closed to new applicants in 2019, you’ll need to inform your FIT Licensee to opt out of FIT Export before signing up for our Smart Export Tariff. Alternatively, if you’d prefer, you can switch to our Microtricity service and we'll handle all the admin for your payments, completely hassle-free. You only need to opt out of the “export” part of FIT - you can still receive payments for your generation through the FIT scheme and get paid for your export through a Smart Export Tariff, such as ours. We’ll need you to provide evidence that your FIT licensee has opted you out - this is usually just an email confirmation from them
If you opt out of FIT, you won’t be able to opt back in for 12 months.
It’s a variable tariff with no fixed contract term or termination fees. That means you can cancel at any time without paying exit fees.
Here are the Smart Export Tariff Terms and Conditions and the Principal Terms.
To join our Smart Export Tariff, you’ll need to provide us with:
Proof of ownership of the system
Your installation certificate from MCS or Flexi-Orb
Your G98/G99 form from your Distribution Network Operator (DNO)
The name of your current supplier, if your switching an export supply to us.
This will depend on how you use the electricity you generate, and we’re not able to advise on what may be best for you. If you’re on a FIT scheme currently, you may be on a “deemed” tariff, which means they’ll record how much electricity you generate and calculate 50% of this which they’ll pay you for your export. Some FIT customers are on a tariff which pays based on exactly what you’ve exported - if you’re on this tariff, you should just be able to compare your current export unit rate vs an alternative export product.
G98 and G99 forms are issued by your Distribution Network Operator (DNO) and confirm that the industry recognises your installation as being legally and safely connected to the distribution network. If you don't have one, you should first call your installer, as they should have arranged and issued this to you. If your installer is no longer trading (or isn't responsive to your requests), you can contact your DNO directly.
Who your DNO is will depend on where you live - you can find the right DNO for your area [here] -Who’s my electricity network operator? – Energy Networks Association (ENA)
We’re not able to accept older G83/G59 devices (inverters) that are not compliant with G98/G99 as they’re not legally allowed to be connected to the UK distribution network from May 2019 onwards. The system will need to be upgraded and you'll need to get a G98/G99 certificate for you to be able to benefit from our Smart Export Tariff. This is also a requirement for Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) products across all suppliers, in line with Ofgem guidance.
You can have a different account holder, but this would require setting up an entirely new account. Please be aware that you won’t have access to the energy (import) account and the energy account holder won’t have access to the export account. As the accounts will be in separate names, they’ll be treated as completely independent, which means you won’t be eligible for our best export rates.
Sometimes it can take a little time to get all the information we need back from the industry - until we get that, you may not be able to submit a meter reading online. In the meantime, you can still call us on 0345 230 6333 or email it to export@ecotricity.co.uk.
No - we're not currently able to accept non-communicating smart meters. If we’re also your import energy supplier, there may be things we can do to connect to your meter - just get in touch on 0345 230 6333 or email metering@ecotricity.co.uk. Otherwise, you’ll need to contact your existing energy supplier.
This is an online only product, so we're not able to sign you up over the phone. You can sign up here.
No, this is a domestic only product. If the assets are owned by a business or the entity being provided the export rate is a business, this isn’t the product for you. We’re looking at introducing some new products for businesses too – so watch this space. You can also go to For your business | Ecotricity for more information; or alternatively call us on 0345 230 6102 or email businesssales@ecotricity.co.uk to discuss what products we already have available for our business customers.
How to find your export reading
Button Type: Keypad (press 9)
Press button 9 on the meter keypad to flick through the displays
Flick through until the screen display ‘EXP KWH’
The export reading will appear after a couple of seconds
Button Type: A and B buttons
Press button A to wake the meter
Keep pressing button A to scroll through the screens
Look for a screen that shows ‘Total Active Export kWh’
This number is your export reading
Button Type: Up, Select and Down buttons
Press the middle button to open the main menu
Use the top and bottom buttons to scroll through the display screens
Find the screen that displays “Cum. EXP”
The figure shown is your export reading
Button Type: Green A button
Press and hold the green A button for 3-5 seconds to wake the screen, until you see “Time”
Keep pressing A to cycle through the display
Look for a screen labelled ‘Total Act Export”
The export register reading will be displayed there
Button Type: Green A and B buttons
Press the green A button to bring up the display
Then press B to cycle through the screens
Search for a screen showing ‘Export’ or ‘Total Export kWh’
That number is your export register reading
Button Type: Up and Down buttons
Press the up button to light up the display
Press the up button again to bring up the menu
Select “General Display” by holding the up button
Scroll until you get to ‘Active MD Export’
The number shown is your export register reading